We’ve all heard the phrase “reduce, reuse, recycle,” and most of us have implemented some ideas for how to reduce waste in our daily lives. Finding ways to reduce waste at home isn’t as difficult as you might think. And even if you’re stellar at recycling or have mastered waste-free gift wrap, there are other things you can do to reduce your household waste, perhaps even driving towards a zero-waste lifestyle. Check out some great waste reduction methods to cut down on junk and get the most out of your materials.
- Plan And/or Prep Your Meals
The most effective way to reduce food waste is to have a detailed weekly plan for your meals. This eliminates unnecessary purchases at the grocery store and minimizes food being thrown out. When you do catch produce fading in the fridge, freeze it or throw it into a soup. Compost any produce that goes bad or add it to your yard debris cart if allowed in your area.
- Avoid Buying Prepackaged Food
Waste reduction really starts while shopping. You can reduce packaging waste by bringing your own containers and bags to the store with you. Move past the prepackaged lettuce, bags of apples and potatoes, and grapes. While the plastic bags can likely be recycled along with the plastic film, the bubble packs that fruit and other items come in are rarely recyclable in any way. When possible, order meat from a local butcher or farm. This meat is typically packaged without the plastic wrap and foam tray used in supermarkets. The meat counter at the grocery store often wraps meat and fish in paper, so that’s another option to consider. Of course, creating a plant-based lifestyle, or even a few vegetarian meals each week, naturally results in little waste.
With a meal plan, it’s also beneficial to make foods from scratch as much as possible. Most food waste comes from packaged goods, but you can avoid that waste by making your own. Bake bread fresh or buy it in paper bags. Make cookies and skip the plastic containers. Put together your own potato salad, sauces, dressings, and salsas. Make a salad from fresh greens instead of a bag. Have the kids help bake pies. Use homemade whipping cream rather than buying it in a can. The idea is to give some thought to each item you buy and evaluate how much of it will end up in the landfill.
2. Make Your Own Household Cleaners
Chemicals we use around the house and yard leach into the soil, drain into our waterways, and float in the air we breathe. It’s likely you already have some nasty toxins around the house. If so, start by properly disposing of them through your local disposal company. Most areas have special hazardous waste disposal units run by folks who know how to manage hazardous waste. Use these places to drop off items such as unused household cleaners, fluorescent bulbs, batteries, pesticides, herbicides, sealants, polish, paint thinner, solvents, varnish, and oil-based paints.
Replace commercial household cleaners and reduce toxic waste with natural cleaners you can make yourself. They’re easy to whip up with ingredients you already have around the house, like white vinegar, lemon, and baking soda.
Household cleaner recipes provide options for laundry, dishes, counters, bathrooms, windows, and more. You’ll feel much better about these ingredients heading down the drain. Skip the highly toxic drain cleaners and use alternatives such as a sewer snake or a plunger to unclog drains. You can also prevent clogging by using a strainer and by pouring boiling water down the drain three to four times a month.
When choosing stains and paints, reach for the water-based options and select those with low VOC.
There are even natural alternatives for those chemical-filled floor and metal polishes. Use lemon oil or olive oil in combination with vinegar or lemon juice to polish furniture. You can polish metals with baking soda or vinegar and salt.
- Compost Your Own Fertilizer
In the garden, skip the commercial fertilizers and make your own from a combination of household items.
An effective compost helps eliminate the need for weed killers and pesticides (but there are many natural ways to battle pests too). Composting is easy and rewarding. Simply combine equal portions of produce food scraps with green materials such as grass clippings, and brown materials, such as small branches and paper bags.
For your yard, select native plants wherever possible since they require fewer resources and perform better in your environment. This means less reliance on fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, and water.
Plastic is a petroleum-based product that has become ubiquitous in our society. Think back a century and you’ll see it’s quite possible to live in a way that doesn’t rely on plastic. The problem with plastic is not only that it requires pumping fossil fuels out of the ground, but that plastic never biodegrades. It breaks down and contaminates water and soil, but it only gets increasingly smaller.
These microplastics, as they are called, are now found in every living organism, from the fish we eat to baby food.
Eliminate plastic starting at the grocery store. As mentioned, bring your own containers and refill them from the bulk department. Skip plastic bags by bringing your own reusable cloth produce and shopping bags. When buying any product, consider whether there is a metal, paper, or glass alternative instead of plastic.
Bioplastic is increasing in popularity and is found in many everyday products. It’s a type of plastic made from plant-based materials instead of petroleum, so it naturally decomposes without harming the planet. Watch for it when considering your purchases.
If you can’t avoid plastic, be vigilant about recycling it. Only about 10% of the plastic in the world is properly recycled; the rest will be floating around the environment for hundreds of years.
What and how to recycle varies widely across the country and around the world. Most municipal recycling centers, however, accept cardboard, nearly every type of paper, aluminum cans, glass, and plastic jugs.
Many grocery stores have a return spot for plastic bags. Typically, it’s near the entrance. Most people don’t know, however, that they can recycle much more than just bags. The product is known as plastic film and includes things like bread bags, the shrink wrap around multi-roll toilet paper and napkin packs, dry-cleaning bags, produce bags, cereal box liners, Ziploc-type storage bags. It also appears in plastic envelopes, air pillows, and bubble wrap.
Be sure to deflate the air pillows and all items need to be clean and dry before drop-off. Check out PlasticFilmRecycling.org for more information.
- Pick Recyclable Packaging
Only about 9% of plastic ends up getting recycled. Whenever possible, try to avoid purchasing products wrapped in plastic and styrofoam.
The best packaging is paper-based and easily recyclable. Fortunately, many companies are finally incorporating greener options into their packaging. You can support this by rewarding merchants who proudly promote their sustainability practices.
If you do end up with plastic foam or bubble wrap, take it to a recycling center. Packing peanuts are often accepted at shipping stores such as UPS and FedEx.
There’s an undeniable connection between the amount you buy and the amount of waste produced. If you’re looking to reduce the latter, start by evaluating the former.
If you find you need rarely-used items such as a roasting pan, a serving platter, medical aids such as a walker or wheelchair, an auger, or a soil tamper, consider buying from a second-hand store or borrowing from a friend instead of buying a new one.
Simply purchasing fewer things guarantees a reduction in waste.
